Something in My Room (2022)

Truly wonderful series

I think this is only the 3rd time I've rated something a 10. Note that this is a review of the uncut version - the cut version is significantly less good, and it also cuts out almost all the love scenes, which are mostly very well-done and lovely kissing.

The writing is excellent, and personal to the author, which shows in the realism of the writing. The characters are not 2D archetypes - they are complex and flawed, and there are no villains or heroes. The plot is well-thought out, and does not go for a cheap ending. The writing respects the intelligence of the audience, which is a nice change, and there are none of the tired cliches that seem to clog every BL. The two leads don't fit into two neat seme/uke boxes - they are fully realized characters, who react like normal people to situations. Even the house's protecting spirit is a complex character.

The acting is some of the best I've seen in a BL. Partly that's because there are a lot of adults with important parts and they cast very experienced and effective actors - but the two leads are fantastic in this. I thought Nut was terrible in Oxygen, but that must have been bad directing because he's amazing in this - he does the most realistic crying I've ever seen, managing to communiate real grief without childish sobbing. Green has a 2-ep role and he's truly spectacular, putting in a powerful performance (and he's clearly a trained dancer), again contrasting with The Tuxedo where he's distinctly underwhelming. Plan Thanawat as Phat is so cute I can't stand it, and on top of that he can really act - his character can be childish and self-absorbed in a realistic way, balanced by all his good qualities. I really hope we see a lot more of him.

This is not just a cute ghost meets boy story - it really explores how things don't always work out like we hoped, and the need to both seize happiness wherever you can find it, and let go of things you can't change, like the tragedies we all have to face - and even how sometimes you can't completely move on.

There was not a single episode that I walked away from disappointed. None of them are filler, and there is no manufactured drama in Ep 9. There are a few plot lines that probably seem pointless in the cut version, like a lot of Dream and Luck, but their story reinforces the importance of respecting each other's beliefs.

The music is great, from the theme to the use of classical music to the instrumental score, which which does a great job of supporting the story.

I really loved this, and for me it's the best BL of this year so far, and this is turning out to be a fairly strong year.

Leggi di Più

Not your usual ghost story

When I started watching “Something in My Room” I had virtually zero expectations in a show that was airing on Channel 3 in Thailand, that wasn’t known for investing a lot of time and resources in creating a pure BL drama. Plus, Nut wasn’t exactly my first choice for lead actor as his work in “Oxygen” was quite underwhelming. And, the plot of ghost and boy meet and fall in love was already explored in “He’s Coming To Me” with Singto and Ohm, in the two episodes of “Y-Destiny” that had Pee and Au and in the Thai-Korea co-production “Peach of Time” with Jimmy and Choi Jae-hyun. However, while not perfect, “Something in My Room” became an interesting choice because of how the director managed to adapt the work of Raflael into this drama and because the acting was better than I expected. And before I dive deeper into the show, I’m acknowledging that the plot is an issue. We are all aware that ghosts can’t touch, kiss or have sex with living humans. Singto and Ohm and Jimmy and Jae-hyun managed to kiss in their series but when Singto and Ohm tried to take a picture, Singto never appeared in any picture. In this series, Phob slowly is able to gain more “self-awareness” to touch and handle things and him and Phat do take pictures together with Phob being visible (at least that’s what I think… it might be that he is only visible to Phat even in the pictures but that theory was never tested) and then have quite a lot of romantic moments, especially in episode 10 (really, they kissed so many times just in this episode). So, yes, I’m ignoring the fact that the plot is quite impossible but as this is the centerpiece of the series, I’ll let it go.

Now, let’s talk about what worked:

a) Plan and Nut: Both actors are nearly acting newbies as Nut is the older one (28 years) and with “Oxygen” as his main role in the past and a guest role in another Thai drama. Plan had been in another Channel 3 drama in a support role but at 24 years of age, he finally got his opportunity to take the lead in a series. Thankfully, the chemistry between them was quite good and that facilitated things between them as they had to navigate through difficult sets of emotions like Phat’s shock that he was able to see a ghost, Phob’s uncertainty about his past and his future, then both realizing they liked each other, to the end of the series that is simply a tear-jerker with them having sex and then having to say goodbye. Nut was able to showcase more of his personality as he felt incredibly stiff in “Oxygen” and Plan was able to showcase that he is more than capable of being a lead actor.

b) The ending: Most of the usual BL fans will be disappointed with this ending as it is a partially sad one. I say partially, because they do end up being together, but to get there, Phat has to live the rest of his life and then die of cancer in order for him to see Phob again and reunite in the afterlife. That being said, I’m ok with that… I was fearing some sort of ending with Phob suddenly coming back to life or Dream casting a spell from her book to make Phob live again or Phat thinking about dying just to follow Phob. Luckily, that was not the case and we see both characters enjoying their last moments together, Phob saying goodbye to Dream and then saying goodbye to Phat in very emotional scenes. Then, many years later, Phat returns to the house where all began and reveals he is dying of cancer and that he is ready to see Phob, which happens in the end when Phob comes to bring Phat with him. It was a somewhat sad ending but it was well crafted and without any ridiculous plot twists. Aside from the weird end scenes when we see the house again and some roaming evil spirits walk around it and one does end up getting inside the house... what was the purpose of that after the nice Phob-Phat afterlife reunion?

c) Dream: I was hoping for a strong female character that didn’t have to act like crazy, super jealous or bitchy just to earn some attention from the male character. Faii was a pleasant surprise as her character was a mystery at first because of her resentment towards her dead father and her friendship with Phat. She looked like she had a crush on Phat but it was actually the other way around but both end up being best of friends. Dream has also the ability to see dead people but struggles with that ability and wants to suppress it at first, but when Phob appears she decides to help Phat see Phob. Faii dealt with all those emotions adequately and provided a strong support to both Nut and Plan.

Now, what didn’t work…

d) The rest of the support actors: Phat’s mother was played by Took, for those who remember her, she was Frank’s crazy mother in “My Tee” who was completely against him having a boyfriend. In this case, she was a “shipper” as she tells Phat that if he decides to love a guy, she will be happy about it. Her only important moments were in episode 9 when she begs Phob not to take Phat with him and to leave him alone and in episode 10 when she tells Phat that even if Phob is not there anymore, she will be with him. The rest of her scenes came with Nuan (played by Phiao) and were mostly useless scenes about the house and Nuan’s past. Phiao also had plenty of weird moments as Nuan because she knew Phob’s family as she was the neighbor who fell in love with Phob’s father only to be rejected by him and indirectly causing Phob to die as he watched that and thought his father was cheating on his mother, began walking and got hit by a car and died. Nuan was obsessed with Phob’s father as she thought he would be over the grief of losing his wife and will take her immediately, but was rejected once again. Nuan’s father turns out to be the house guardian spirit that she is keeping there as punishment for how he treated Nuan in the past. And she had cameras installed in Phat's house and she would watch them at night from her own TV, but the purpose (aside from being a creep and a stalker) was never really revealed.
Green played Ben and had a brief appearance as Phob’s ex-love interest that ends up being a manipulative person who then supposedly changed and produced an awkward theater play to tell his story... I mean, he knows Phob died and he feels that guilty that he decided to do the play to show some remorse perhaps?... The reality is that I couldn’t trust him in the 2-3 episodes he appeared. Green’s acting is just like his nickname, super green, as he was stiff as a board in “Y-Destiny” and he hasn’t improved much for this series and for “The Tuxedo”, so that was a bit of a bummer.
But, the worst of all, was Big playing Luck. Big previously appeared in “My Mate Match” and as the bed-ridden and dying of a brain tumor P’Pha in “Gen Y 2” but this character took the cake of weirdness. He likes Dream and thinks Dream and Phat are hiding a relationship and something else so he begins by hacking Phat’s laptop. Both forgive him quite quickly but he can’t open up to Dream so they break up. He finally has a heart-to-heart with Phat and then with Dream and end up together. All of that was more or less OK, except for the part that he is obsessed with aliens as apparently his parents were abducted by them in the past. Then he sees a flashing light in episode 9 and wonders if the aliens are still kidnapping people… I mean, WHAT?? That was probably the most bizarre moment of the show as it made no sense to the main story, it provided nothing useful to the plot and it solved nothing.

e) Some of the editing: I appreciate having the chance of watching the longer version of the episodes as the shorter ones lost anywhere between 25 to 35 minutes of screen time. Some might argue that the edited scenes were probably irrelevant moments like scenes that had all the secondary actors, but I think that some Phat/Phob moments were cut a bit short as well because of that.

So, in the end, “Something in My Room” ended up being more than just a ghost and boy fall in love story. It had a lot of lessons on life and death, on forgiving others, on communicating with others to avoid misunderstandings, on second chances in life, on dealing with the loss of a loved one, on dealing with rejection, on finding new love, on realizing that nothing lasts forever, on dealing with the fact that we are all going to die one day, on moving on and letting go, etc. The show was a very decent BL proposal for those, like me, who are tired of engineer/medical students, poorly written plots, bad acting, bad directing, and the usual Thai BL clichés.

Leggi di Più

Why Do I Not Feel Much?

I'll be upfront and say I watched this on 2x fast forward speed because I was having an incredibly difficult time watching this series and being able to stay awake. Not only that, but for some reason, I had the most perplexing problem with getting through this show. Not because it was bad, I think this series was quite good, but maybe because it felt too draggy? Maybe the plot isn't for me? Maybe because I think too realistically in the sense that he's trying to date a ghost and how far are you going to get with someone who's not human? Because I saw the inevitable coming? I don't know, I really don't, especially since I think this series was put together authentically and with care, something I don't see commonly in BLs (Thai BLs at least).

Let's Dive In.

Something In My Room is a supernatural BL about a dude who moves into a new house with his mother, and finds that a ghost dude is living there! A complex plot later, their happy and in love until reality smacks them on the ass. Again, The way this show was put together was insanely pleasant to experience. I love foreshadowing, I love plots that are complex and intrigue me to find out what happens next. And this show did just that. I wanted to understand Phob and his situation, I wanted to know more about Phat's father and his mother's life, I wanted to find out what was going on with Nuan and her sketchy ways, I wanted to understand Dream and every little detail about her, I wanted to know more about Luck and his very odd familial situation, I wanted to see how Phob died and how he was going to inevitably have to move on, and there's another handful to add on. It was all fun, and those were the parts that I enjoyed the most.

But sadly, I was spoiled about the ending, and while from the get-go you can guess what's going to happen between a ghost and his lover boy, it's still no fun to be spoiled. If anything, I would've loved to be wrong about my initial thoughts, but instead, I learned what it was before I even got to settle well into the series. I don't care to know whether a series is going to be a happy ending or not, I want to go in with my mind open and just watch, no matter the ending. Even finding out it's a happy ending kind of burst my bubble, it's just not fun. And that's probably the reason why it took me forever to get through this thing until I decided that enough was enough, and I just sped watch through the last 7 episodes. I've already gotten spoiled on other series that I was looking forward to, but now, I might put it on the back burner until I feel like watching it. The fun of something is ruined when you know how things will go; because that's the point of watching, we want to learn what happens next, and that hopeful happily ever after. Oh well, I'm over it, and at least I got to see the other parts of this series that made it exciting.

The production did their thing in this series. It is by far my favorite part of watching this show. The change in tone when something scary or bad is about to happen/happening, the music scores, the lighting, and the cinematography, it was so all well put together. I'm not usually a fan of first episodes, but this one was probably the best episode out of them all. It catches your attention, and then you're dying to watch, I just loved it.

Again, the lack of me wanting to get through this series was the real problem. I think the plots and conflicts and whatnot were great, but the romance was lacking. Phat is a little skeptical of Phob at first, they develop a somewhat friendship, Phob sneaks into his dream to recite some lines, they kiss, and then it's like all of a sudden, they're in love and dating. I didn't get that build-up or that connection, Other than a few shy look aways from Phat, there was nothing for me to pine over. So yes, their love scene is amazing (who knew Nut could kiss like that after My Oxygen..???), their kisses were off the chain, but I'm watching it with no emotion radiating from any part of my body. I think the ending can somewhat make you feel bad that they have to go their separate ways, but all in all, throughout the series, their romance was just not cutting it.

Another great aspect was the acting. Nut did a complete 180 with his character here who's a lot more memorable than whatever-his-name-was-that-Nut-played-in-My-Oxygen was. That just goes to show that directing is a very important part of the show, and the director here knew what the hell they were doing (I'll give some leeway cause Nut's character in MO was more brooding and vampirish, but still Nut did a way better job here). He did so good that I'm honestly dying to see him again! It also doesn't hurt that Nut looks like he stepped out of the 100-top-hottest-Thai-Men catalog. Everyone else did great, I think Phat was a little weak at times, but it wasn't too much of a burden, Nuan and the monk dude were good, Dream and Luck were good, and the dad was decent. Overall, there were little to no problems in this department.

I feel like Dream was set up to be this big and all-power woman, and then they just did nothing with her? Correct me if I'm wrong, cause I was watching this in ff mode, but she kind of just fell off the wagon. She with through some stuff with Luck, and helped the boys talk to the dead, but what else about her? I wanted more from her, other than her being a pretty good actor, her storyline was the most mysterious, which made me want to know more about her so bad. I don't know how I feel about Luck and his alien situation. It felt erratic yet oddly piqued my interest, but I think we could've done without it. And yes this series is about a ghost but let's not add in another unworldly situation.

The ending was fine I guess. It was beautiful to see Phat go back to the house at his older age, the voice-over was incredible, and it was cute to literally see them walking off together forever. So I'm not too mad, (BUT SPOILERS STILL SUCK!)

Ratings:

Story: 9 - Love everything about it. I think some things could've been cleaned up better, but the story was the best part of this.

Acting: 8.5 - Great acting, and very surprised at how excellent Nut was. Plan could use more work, but he was still good. Nothing to say about the others cause they did fine.

Music: 9 - Absolutely loved it, not necessarily the OST, cause it was kind of kiddish and annoying at times, but the scoring overall in this series was superb. It made the scenes 10x times more intense and whoever was over picking the music did the best job out of anyone that was a part of the crew.

Rewatch value: 1.5 - Ehh, probably not.

The suggested overall rating is a 7, and I think that fits perfectly with this series. Not a 7 because it was bad or anything, but this wasn't really my cup of tea from the get-go. However, because of the excellent production team and the great acting, it was bearable, and the outcome wasn't so bad. Spoilers suck, and I'll always be a little sassy because of it, but it didn't ruin too much for me to want to completely drop this series (which I thought about doing a few times). I think if you're interested in the very limited amount of supernatural BL that are available, then go for it. If you missed Nut from MO and you want to watch him do an excellent job here then go for it.

Leggi di Più

A series that was full of life and death lessons

One of the best BLs of the year IMO. The writing was deep and meaningful and made me think about the choices we make in our lives and the consequences. The cast was superb. Especially Nut. I guess he needed a series like this one to show his talent. He really was underused in Oxygen. Thank you for casting him in Something in My Room. I think this role will open up a lot of roles for him. He's earned it. Plan, for being a newbie, was pretty good too tho IMO he sill needs work in the emotional department he made me feel for Phat and that's what matters. The supporting cast was good too especially Dream's actress I hope to see her in more.
The story was a bit slow in the first episodes but once it picks up about ep 4 it really takes you on a ride. I can't even mention how many times the episodes made me cry esp the last couple of ones. The finale was heart wrenching for the most part, and Nut & Plan knew how to break our hearts. I was dreading the sad ending the whole hour but was pleasantly surprised by the last minute.
I loved the songs used especially Plan's. It really hits you hard in the last Phob and Phat scene. I will be rewatching this series as it's one of my faves this year. I will highly recommend if you want something deep and meaningful and are not into political stuff. Overall I give it a 9.5 and as a rewatch value 9.5

Leggi di Più

i never know what to write here

thoughts: first off I put this off because I'm not the biggest fan of sad or open endings and reading the plot I was expecting it to be like that but it was more bittersweet ik a lot of people didn't like the ending but I enjoyed it. my favourite line at the end was "even to this age, unfairness still exists" because it's such a punch of reality that phob asked phat to move on and live their dreams and he did his best. people do not like the fact he had cancer and wished they worded the bit about his family different and I agree I feel like it was such a beautiful moment and the wording could have been beautiful to match it but yanno but besides that, I loved that he was reunited with phob.The chemistry between both of the mains flowed nicely and was very natural I loved the fact there wasn't a lot of kissing scenes because it truly made every kiss memorable and meaningful.

now onto the actual review:
storyline: its good my only complaint is wtf was the alien's part about I honestly skipped the scenes when it came to luck and dream their story-lines bored me luck hacking into phats laptop to stalk him just because he was upset that phat and dream were "keeping secrets" LIKE HUH?? if insecure was a person it would be luck. The fact that Dream was a strong female character, yet after a while, I got bored with her story-line and that it took them less than five minutes to forgive Luck for what he had done?
I still don't understand the aunt's business but it was ok for phob I loved everything about it they had to solve his unfinished business and he had to relearn everything I like how it was slow-paced and not rushed into an ep of them figuring it out.

acting and cast: Plan who plays phat looks like the younger version of apo from kinnporshe like HELLO???
plan as phat: acting was impeccable.. I loved him he wasn't awkward he wasn't stiff and had an excellent delivery. His crying scenes as well had me in tears
nut as phob: YES YES YES hello I wasn't sure because he played in oxygen a lot if acting was quite stiff but in this, his acting improved so much n the chemistry between the mains ???? I loved it. nut has become one my favourites due to this 10/10 acting

Rewatch value: I wouldn't rewatch this. I loved it but the eps are long and have a lot of scenes I just want to cut out myself that had no relevance when it came to the main plot (I'm looking at you luck)

Leggi di Più

oh my god

Let’s keep it short and simple. This was absolutely amazing.
At first it started so light hearted and corny and I laughed at a few of the jokes but then it took this more serious turn a few episodes in. It didn’t throw me off though it just made me want to watch it more.
At first I wasn’t too sure about the main characters chemistry but as the episodes progressed I became obsessed with them. There was something about the way they interacted that had made my heart swell(speaking of this drama made me cry on multiple occasions— not because it was sad per se but it was almost bittersweet?their love was something i could only wish to have someday)
Also the soundtrack was jaw dropping— I think it was a big reason why I cried so much. Overall it was amazing and I wish I could experience love like the two main characters. Definitely recommend!!

Leggi di Più

Elegy

I was not prepared for this. It's that simple. What I assumed would be a light comedy with some pulling at the heartstrings had me mulling over life, death and the hereafter. "Something in My Room" is so chock full of life lessons - love, family, selfishness, regret, mortality and...beauty and marvel. And the people behind this wonderful series just take it all the way to the end. Okay, so here comes the inevitable comparisons to "He's Coming to Me" and "Peach of Time", both of them dealing with similar themes - boy meets ghost, boy and ghost forge a relationship, boy helps ghost find the missing pieces of his saga so that he can move on. All three are actually very good, but "Something in My Room" has a little something extra.

Let me start with the performances. Supanut - it actually pains me now to say that I really didn't have high expectations where he's concerned. The only previous performance of his I'm aware of is his turn in "Oxygen", and to call that performance wooden would be an insult to wood, TBH. I did, however, like the song from "Oxygen" and that led me to his YouTube channel. The Supanut of YouTube was completely different to what I'd anticipated after slogging through "Oxygen" - here's a guy with a sense of humour who takes his work very seriously without all the posturing, etc. He comes across as a real good guy, and clearly the director and the casting director saw something in him that was just right for "Phob". Nut is perfectly cast, does a wonderful job and I, for one, cannot wait to see what comes along next for him. Then there's Plan who plays "Phat". I really couldn't ask for more - he gives such a wonderfully honest and elegant performance that I couldn't imagine "Phat" being played by any other actor. The entire cast is really good, but I have to mention Green who shows up for a rather short arc following the relationship between "Phob" and "Ben" - a guy he briefly dated in Uni. Wow. What a performance...short but excellent.

Finally, let me talk about the director - Tee Bundit Sintanaparadee - whose previous work includes "TharnType" and "Lovely Writer". His work just keeps on getting better and better and better. J'adore. With little left to say except to shout out the writers for their beautiful work, musical director and (I have to include) the costumer who dressed the most stylish ghost in the history of ever. Job well done everybody.

P.S. There are two versions out there - the 45 minute episode version and the 1 hour plus version. I only watched both versions one episode of the series and the difference was stark. Do yourself a favour and try to catch the longer version. There's so much more that you're missing. That's all.

Leggi di Più

Something Sweet but not a lot of flavour...

There is definitely someone sweet in that room... there are lovable characters, gorgeous visuals but not much suspense and nothing scary...

This is a sweet rom com showing us the value of loving while being fully aware of the fact that you will soon part ways... As there is a very clear and short time frame for this ghost with amnesia... But yes even a ghost with amnesia can be someones ones true love... Truly showing that it is never to late for love and all those sweet cliches... The idea of committing and loving whole heartedly even if it is for a short while is probably what makes this drama special... Though I kept hoping for the oh so popular coma twist or some kind of miracle...A twist that may or may not have come in the end... I am not telling you because I want you to feel the agony and hope yourselves.

To be honest I have been racking my brain over what it is about this drama that had me feeling meh... it was not the ending and most definitely not the visuals, nor was it the main characters they were all adorable.... However it felt like the story was missing something, the twists were not very predictable but they were also kind of meh...With a lot of potential to show greatness they kind of fell flat.


That said there are quite a few sweet and fun scenes with both bickering, teasing and playful mains... Lots of beautiful scenes and some pretty ok romance scenes... The longing to touch could have been portrayed a lot better, the mystery too...

So watch it don't watch it it is probably no big deal but if you do watch it do not expect to much suspense or exhilarating drama and you should be fine.

P.S. It also deals with wanting to forget vs cherishing ones memories in a pretty nice way rarely seen on screen.

Leggi di Più

Loved it.

Loved it.

When I saw it involved a ghost story I was somewhat hesitant but I found the story interesting. I am truly grateful for a BL series that did not take place in a school setting.

I had only two issues with this series. The dark spirits were too well done (I stopped watching horror movies a long time ago) and in some parts the editing seemed a bit disjointed as if scenes had been cut from the episode.

I loved that they did not shy away from the romantic connection between the leads. It annoys me immensely in some of these BL series when they expect me believe a relationship has developed when the leads stand three feet apart and lean forward and give each other a light brush on the lips.

I ended up finding this series because I went looking for more work by director, Tee Bundit Sintanaparadee. I am finding that I really like his productions so, I have pretty high hopes for Something In My Room. He did a wonderful job with Tharntype and Lovely Writer… two of my favorite BL series.

Plan Thanawat Koosuwan has not done a lot of series but he seems to be a good actor. I have been enjoying Nut Supanut Lourhaphanich in Oxygen on Viki.

Leggi di Più